This invention relates generally to the operation of small wheeled transportation vehicles for handicapped persons, and particularly to the selective actuation of clutches employed in such vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to the actuation of clutches associated with wheel assemblies having axially retractable and extensible wheels.
Prior art vehicles for handicapped persons, such as wheelchairs for example, have typically required occupants to be removed from the vehicles when transporting the vehicles through narrow aisles and small door passageways. Most of such vehicles of the prior art, even self-propelled, have not possessed a capacity for reduction in the width dimension thereof while transporting occupants. For example, many wheelchairs are designed for simple collapse along their lateral dimensions for enabling conveyance through narrow spaces.